Meeting on the sidelines of the international climate change conference currently underway in Nairobi, a youth group on Thursday called on governments and policy makers to give them bigger roles in environmental management. “As young people who will inherit leadership roles and the responsibility of caring for ourselves…our planet Earth from the leaders of today, we are aware that it is critical for present and future leaders to collaborate on finding solutions to the most important challenge human kind has ever faced: climate change,” said a statement released by the International Conference of Youth 2 (COY2). “We call upon governments and policy makers to undertake adequate consultation with local, regional and national stakeholders especially youth for their contribution prior to participation in international climate change negotiations,” they said. The resolution was issued on the sidelines of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC). Known as the Twelfth Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Second Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, the 10-day meeting is bringing together some 6,000 participants. Since its creation in 1992 after the Rio Earth Summit, the UNFCCC sets out a framework for action aimed at stabilizing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases to avoid interference with the climate system. The Kyoto Protocol was agreed upon by delegates meeting in the Japanese city and it commits developed countries and countries in transition to a market economy to achieve emissions reduction targets. |
